Flames scorch Sun Devils, advance to third straight Final Four as Mohs eclipses all-time MCLA DI scoring mark

Tuesday, May 6

Round Rock, TX

4:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Arizona State University

Keaton Mohs (8) is congratulated by fellow Flames graduate attack Braden Landry (91) and sophomore midfielder Hunter Rockhill (1) after scoring one of his five goals in the third quarter, which made him the all-time MCLA Division I scoring leader with 348 points in a 20-11 quarterfinal win over Arizona State. (Photos by Andrew Musser)

Flames scorch Sun Devils, advance to third straight Final Four as Mohs eclipses all-time MCLA DI scoring mark

5/6/2025 9:10:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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After netting 11 points to surpass Assistant Coach Ryan Miller as Liberty’s all-time scoring leader in Monday’s rout of Minnesota, graduate attack Keaton Mohs tallied 10 more points in a 20-11 triumph over Arizona State.

Gallery: (5-6-2025) MCLA Nationals vs. ASU 2025

In an MCLA Division I quarterfinal rematch from last season, graduate attack Keaton Mohs scored in double-digits for the second game in a row to become the league's all-time points leader and spark Liberty University's men's lacrosse team to a 20-11 triumph over Arizona State, Tuesday afternoon at the Round Rock (Texas) Multipurpose Complex.

The No. 1-ranked Flames (17-1) — winners of 17 in a row to better the program record of 15 set in 2019 — advance to their third consecutive MCLA DI Final Four and a semifinal rematch with No. 5-ranked, defending national champion BYU on Thursday at 1:45 p.m. EST, streamed live on mclatv.us. The Cougars (16-2) recorded the first upset in 12 tournament games so far, 13-9 quarterfinal victory late Tuesday night over No. 4 Florida (13-4).

"Making it to the semifinals for a third year in a row is an impressive feat, but that was to be expected," Liberty Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. "We know we need to crest the mountaintop, to get past the semifinal game and break through to the first championship final in program history."

Graduate faceoff specialist Caleb Hammett won the first five draws to help the Flames strike quickly, seizing a 4-0 lead in the opening four minutes of play before scorching the No. 8-seeded Sun Devils (14-5) in the second half by outscoring them 7-1 in the third quarter.

"The guys did a great job of playing right from the opening whistle against an ASU team that has been battle-tested as (Southwestern Lacrosse) Conference champions," McQuillan said. "That was huge and what we really wanted to focus on, and the guys have continued to respond to every challenge."

Mohs, stationed behind the net, set up junior midfielder Luke Campbell cutting down the right side of the box for a running shot past ASU goalie Finn Thompson for the game's first goal just 43 seconds into the action.

Sophomore midfielder Hunter Rockhill beat Thompson through the five hole a minute later before Shane Supek fed fellow junior middie Gabe Dymmel a cross-crease pass for a finish from right out in front and a 3-0 lead with 12:08 to play in the first quarter and Rockhill netted his second goal at the 11:00 mark.

Arizona State ended the shutout by converting its first shot of the game on a fast break before Wally Radebaugh received a bounce pass and cut the deficit to 4-2 at the 7:35 mark.

However, Rockhill received a Mohs feed from behind the net and skipped a shot from the top of the box past Thompson to push the Flames' lead to 5-2 with 1:31 remaining.

After Mohs forced a turnover on a ride early in the second quarter, Supek stretched Liberty's advantage to 6-2 by rifling a shot past Thompson from the perimeter. Moments later, Sun Devils attack Kyle Decker sliced through the left side of the Flames' defense and pocketed a shot into the top-right corner of the cage before ASU middie Nick Eck capitalized on a man advantage to trim the deficit to 6-4 7:53 before halftime.

Back-to-back finishes by junior attack Luke Branham (2G, 3A) — the second after a stylish toe drag on a drive through the middle of the box — extended Liberty's lead to 8-4 at the 1:45 mark.

A minute before halftime, the Flames capped a fast break with a highlight reel goal when graduate attack Braden Landry (3G) fed Mohs on a counterattack and Mohs set up senior middie Ryan Merbach for a mid-air catch-and-release finish for his fifth assist of the half.

Liberty capitalized on a two-minute penalty against Minnesota for a hit to Hammett's head after he won the ensuing faceoff.

"He's a warrior and takes a lot of abuse and punishment," McQuillan said of Hammett, who won 17 of 21 faceoffs for the game with Supek winning 8 of his 13. "Thankfully, we had the luxury of being able to pull him in the second half and give him some recovery time."

Senior attack Will Geary, who returned Monday from a collarbone injury that sidelined him for more than a month, slammed home sophomore midfielder Easton Cahill's assist across the box on the right side, stretching the Flames' lead to 10-4 27 seconds before halftime.

Mohs, who was held without a goal in the first half, converted a hat trick in the opening 3:31 of the second, the first on the man advantage and third on a point-blank finish after another ASU turnover to pad the advantage to 12-5. He added a fourth goal at the 9:09 mark, breaking the MCLA's all-time points record set at 345 by Davenport's Brian LaRoque, before Landry netted his 100th point of the season, joining Mohs and Assistant Coach Ryan Miller as the only three Liberty players to eclipse that total. Mohs brought his career total to 348 points with his fifth goal of the third quarter, padding Liberty's lead to 17-5.

McQuillan substituted freely in the fourth quarter and the Sun Devils cut the deficit to single digits before Dymmel completed his hat trick by unleashing a rocket of a shot from the top of the box, the Flames' final score.

Defensively, senior Conor Guiltinan, the ALC Defender of the Year, forced four turnovers and sophomore long-stick middie Peyton Park caused three while sophomore goalie Ian Carvajal made eight saves and allowed six goals through three quarters.

"We were able to get the lead, to get our subs in, and to rest Keaton (Mohs) and Braden (Landry) and other starters for the majority of the fourth quarter," McQuillan said. "All season long, we have been using our depth, and that is a luxury that we haven't had in years past, when we have run out of gas at the finish line (at nationals). We have put ourselves in a great position as the guys continue to rise to the occasion."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Andrew Musser/Club Sports Video & Media Coordinator